nematodes tagged posts

SGTX promotes the use of Fungi-to-Bacteria ratios as a key to understanding how a below-ground soil foodweb succession parallels an above-ground plant ecological succession. The following chart illustrates this concept. Early-successional plants (invasive weeds and annual crops) are bacterial-dominated while late-successional plants (prairies, trees, and forests) are fungal-dominated. The numbers in the chart are based on soil biology lab tests. They are reported as Total Fungal Biomass : Total Bacteria Biomass (F:B) in micrograms per gram.

The soil biology test provides a practical glimpse of which kinds and how many soil critters make up the existing soil foodweb on a farm, ranch, yard, park, etc. This chart guides SGTX work...

LCE can be generated in large volumes in a short time frame, it is shelf-stable, and it offers the flexibility of activating for use as compost tea. Also, we see a longer lasting response time from the extraction process over the tea brewing process. We need the depth of this response time in Texas soils.

In the process of compost extraction, the beneficial biology in compost is dislodged and goes into a solution. An important distinction is that the majority of these micro-organisms are inactive or dormant. The liquid biology that results from LCE is similar to the conditions that exist in compost; only a small percentage are active and working, the others lie dormant until they are woken up in response to external sti...

Bacteria are tiny, one-celled organisms which decompose organic matter, mineralize and immobilize nutrients, suppress diseases, fix nitrogen, and solubilize phosphorus. In agriculture soils a desirable range is 100 million to 1 billion bacterial organisms in one gram of dry soil.

Fungal hypha

Fungi

Fungi are microscopic cells that grow as long threads or strands called hyphae. These single-celled strands push their way between rocks, soil particles, and roots. When these strands fuse together they look like fungal roots called mycelia. Fungi decompose organic matter and crop residues, solubilize nutrients from parent rock, and physically bind soil particles into aggregates which improves soil structure...